South Lake Tahoe is located at 38°56'44" North, 119°58'11" West (38.945833, -119.970000).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.50 mi2 (42.72 km2). 10.06 mi2 (26.05 km2) of it is land and 6.44 mi2 (16.67 km2) of it is covered by water. The total area is 39.03% water.

South Lake Tahoe is located in the Pacific Standard Time (PST) timezone, GMT-08:00. It observes Daylight Saving Time (DST).